Nintendo doesn't take part in the Tokyo Game Show, but it still managed to score one of the biggest news stories of the day just as the show kicked off

Following weeks of retail leaks, the company formally announced a price drop for the Wii. In a posting at its corporate site, the company said that Wii would drop in price by ¥5,000 on October 1, taking the system from its launch price of ¥25,000 to ¥20,000.

The system is also seeing a price drop overseas. In America, Nintendo announced a $50.00 price drop to $199.99, to take effect on Sunday. There, the system will continue to be packaged with Wii Sports. In Japan, the game is sold separately, as has been the case since launch.

Nintendo noted that the Wii reached 8.17 million units in domestic sales in June, the end of the last quarterly earnings period. It did not provide updated sales figures today.